Injury updates on Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves leave Lakers in brutal spot

Despite winning at a league-leading pace, the Los Angeles Lakers have endured a brutal stretch of games. Between Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, Mar. 1, the Lakers lost two starters to injuries that could transform the outlook of the 2024-25 season.

The first injury occurred when Rui Hachimura suffered a left knee strain against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Austin Reaves enduring an injury a day later against the LA Clippers.

The hope in Los Angeles was that both players had avoided a severe injury. To some degree, that appears to be the case—but only if one is willing to look past the otherwise alarming reality of the Lakers' current predicament.

Following the Lakers' 106-102 win over the Clippers, head coach JJ Redick revealed that Hachimura is battling tendinopathy in his left knee.

For those who can't watch the video, Redick said the following:

"I don't have anything other than: [Austin Reaves] was experiencing some tightness in the calf, some soreness. Was held out as a precaution...For Rui [Hachimura], I don't know if they've announced it, left patella tendinopathy in the left knee."

The unfortunate nature of Hachimura's injury is that he will require as much rest as possible over the next few days or weeks—and that's if he avoided a more severe form of tendinitis.

Lakers starter Rui Hachimura battling tendinopathy in injured knee

According to the Cleveland Clinic, acute tendinitis can be overcome within days or weeks of the initial injury. If it's chronic tendinitis, however, it could take up to six weeks—which would consume the remaining dates of the regular season.

If it proves to be tendinosis, however, Hachimura could experience a recovery time of two-to-six months—and every game played could open that window further.

Considering this is an injury that requires rest and limited activity, Hachimura could need considerable time to both step away from basketball activities and then ramp back up into form. It's awful timing considering he was in the midst of one of the best stretches of his NBA career.

Hachimura had been averaging 17.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.5 three-point field goals made over the 11 games that preceded his injury.

As for Reaves, Redick described the injury as tightness and soreness in his star guard's calf. It's too soon to speculate over the severity, but it's at least somewhat reassuring that Redick described Reaves' early departure from the win over the Clippers as precautionary.

In saying that, it should be noted that Luka Doncic missed every game between Dec. 26 and Feb. 9 due to a calf injury that he's still in the process of returning to form from.

With this in mind, the Lakers will need to lean on their bench to step up and provide starting-caliber minutes. Los Angeles could spend significant time without Hachimura and Reaves in the lineup, and the superstar duo of Doncic and LeBron James needs support.

Thankfully, at 37-21, the Lakers have built quite a cushion for themselves as they look for ways to navigate this new environment.